Benjamin Hirsch Auerbach (1808 – 30 September 1872) was a German
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
and one of the most prominent leaders of modern
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...
.
Benjamin received his first instruction from his father, subsequently studying at the ''
yeshibot
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish education, Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish p ...
'' of
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
. Well equipped with Talmudic learning he entered the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
, where he studied from 1831 to 1834. Immediately afterward he was called to the rabbinate of
Hanau, but declined, preferring the call to
Darmstadt, as chief rabbi (''Landesrabbiner'') of the
Grand Duchy of Hesse, for which office no less a personage than
Zunz Zunz ( he, צוּנְץ, yi, צונץ) is a Yiddish surname:
* (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist
* Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer
* Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi an ...
was his competitor. His position was, however, very difficult, as he was strictly Orthodox, while the majority of the congregation were Liberal. For the same reason he became the centre of discussion between Orthodox and Reformist members of the Jewish Community council in Rotterdam in 1848 where he was one of the applicants for the position of Chief Rabbi. Due to the turmoil he withdrew his application. He remained in Darmstadt for twenty-three years, but was forced to resign in 1857. He went to
Frankfort-on-the-Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its n ...
, where he busied himself with literary work until, in 1863, he was called as rabbi to Halberstadt, in which post he served until his death.
As a scholar and author, Auerbach ranks among the first in his party. He was among the first Orthodox rabbis who preached in pure German, and his textbook for religious instruction became popular. In the controversy aroused by the publication of
Zecharias Frankel
Zecharias Frankel, also known as Zacharias Frankel (30 September 1801 – 13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. He was born in Prague and died in Breslau. He was the foun ...
's "Darke ha-Mishnah," he naturally sided with Frankel's opponents, defending the view of the divine origin of the rabbinical law. It was Frankel who was one of the three rabbis asked by the Rotterdam Jews to judge the application of Auerbach for the position of Chief Rabbi.
Besides numerous sermons, he published: (1) "Lehrbuch der Israelitischen Religion," 1839, 3d ed., by his son Selig Auerbach, Giessen, 1893; (2) "Berit Abraham, oder die Beschneidungsfeier und die Dabei Stattfindenden Gebete und Gesänge. In's Deutsche Uebersetzt und mit einer Ausführlichen Literarhistorischen Einleitung Versehen," Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1869, 2d ed., 1880; (3) "Ha-Ẓofeh 'al Darke ha-Mishnah," a criticism of Frankel's "Introduction to the Mishnah," Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1861; (4) "Mishnat R. Nathan," notes on the Mishnah, written by Nathan Adler of Frankfort, who had been Abraham Auerbach's teacher, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1862; (5) "Sefer ha-Eshkol", an edition of the ritual code of
Abraham of Narbonne, Halberstadt, 1863 (see section below); and (6) "Geschichte der Israelitischen Gemeinde Halberstadt," Halberstadt, 1866.
Family
His father,
Abraham Auerbach, a descendant of an old rabbinical family which traced its origin back to
Menahem Auerbach, one of the exiles of Vienna, was on the maternal side a nephew of
Joseph David Sinzheim
Joseph David Sinzheim (1745 – November 11, 1812 in Paris) was the chief rabbi of Strasbourg. He was son of Rabbi Isaac Sinzheim of Treves, and brother-in-law of Herz Cerfbeer.
Biography
Sinzheim was the most learned and prominent member of ...
, the first president of the French Sanhedrin, and after having held various rabbinical positions became rabbi of the consistory of Bonn.
The Nahal Eshkol Controversy
As noted above, Rabbi Auerbach published an edition of the "Sefer HaEshkol" in 1863 together with his commentary on it; the "Nahal Eshkol". He published three volumes of the work in his lifetime and claimed to be in possession of a fourth volume that he did not complete before his death.
In 1909 the scholar
Shalom Albeck raised doubts as to the authenticity of Auerbach's manuscript and declared it a forgery. Already in 1869 and 1880, such doubts had been raised, but the stature of Auerbach had prevented these from having been taken seriously.
Following Albeck's challenge, four prominent German rabbis (
David Zvi Hoffmann
David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843, Verbó, Austrian Empire – November 20, 1921, Berlin) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. He headed the Yeshiva in Berlin, and published research on the Pent ...
,
Abraham Berliner
Abraham (Adolf) Berliner (May 2, 1833 – April 21, 1915) (Hebrew: אברהם ברלינר) was a German theologian and historian, born in Obersitzko, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, Prussia. He received his first education under his father, who ...
,
Jacob Schor and
Hanokh Ehrentreu) wrote a booklet published in Berlin in 1910 containing a defense of Auerbach named ''Tzidkat HaTzaddik'' – (literally "the righteousness of the saint"). Albeck did not leave this response unanswered and published a further booklet named ''Kofer HaEshkol'' – (literally "the denial of the Eshkol") (Warsaw, 1911), in which he explained his reasons for declaring the work a forgery.
Although a further defense of Auerbach was written as late as 1974 by
Bernard Bergman
Bernard Bergman (September 2, 1911 – June 16, 1984) was an Orthodox rabbi and businessman who was best known for his operation of a large network of nursing homes and his conviction of Medicaid fraud in 1976. Bergman turned an inheritance of $25 ...
in an essay in the Joshua Finkel Festschrift (New York, 1974), it can be fairly said that Albeck's arguments became accepted and the dubious nature of Auerbach's "Eshkol" is now considered an established fact in academic circles as well as many rabbinic ones.
Neither Rabbi Auerbach or his heirs ever produced the original manuscript from which he worked to transcribe his "Eshkol" and no reasonable explanations have ever been given for the discrepancies in the work.
"Responses to Comments and Elaborations on Previous Posts"
, ''Marc B. Shapiro
Marc B. Shapiro (Hebrew: מלך שפירא, born 1966) is a professor and the author of various books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and rabbinic literature.
Education and career
Shapiro received his BA at Brandeis Unive ...
(2007), Tradition Seforim Blog''
References
*Geiger's Jüd. Zeit. i. 127, 195, 253;
*Allg. Zeit. d. Jud. 1857, pp. 269, 282;
*Dr. B. H. Auerbach, ein Lebensbild, in Meyer's Kalender for 5645, Halberstadt, 1884; various reports in the newspapers of his time;
also private communications from his grandson, Dr. Isaac Auerbach, at Leipzig.
*Julius Fürst
Julius Fürst (; 12 May 1805, Żerków, South Prussia – 9 February 1873, Leipzig), born Joseph Alsari, was a Jewish German orientalist and the son of noted maggid, teacher, and Hebrew grammarian Jacob Alsari. Fürst was a distinguished scho ...
, Bibl. Jud. i. 72;
*Isaak Markus Jost
Isaak Marcus (Markus) Jost (February 22, 1793, Bernburg – November 22, 1860, Frankfurt am Main) was a Jewish historical writer.
He studied at the universities of Göttingen and Berlin. In Berlin he began to teach, and in 1835 received the appoi ...
, ''Annalen'', 1839, Nos. 33, 37, 43;
*Jost, ''Neuere Geschichte der Israeliten von 1815 bis 1845'', i. 17, iii. 160;
* Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 279;
*William Zeitlin
William Zeitlin (; – 1921) was a Russian scholar and bibliographer.
Biography
William Zeitlin was born in Homel, Mogilev Governorate, into a prominent Jewish family from Shklov.
His major work was ''Kiryat Sefer'', or ''Bibliotheca Hebraica P ...
, Kiryat Sefer, 8.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerbach, Benjamin Hirsch
19th-century German rabbis
German Orthodox rabbis
People from Neuwied
1808 births
1872 deaths
People from the Rhine Province
Forgery controversies
Literary forgeries